Demonstrations are taking place in a number of large cities in Bolivia amid the counting of votes in the presidential election, some actions have grown into clashes with the police, the publication El Deber reports.
Currently, according to the results of the calculation of 95.63% of the votes, the leader is Evo Morales with 46.85%, followed by his main rival, ex-president Carlos Mesa with 36.74% of the vote. Thus, Morales is winning the first round so far.
The largest demonstrations of supporters of the two main candidates are recorded in La Paz, Sucre and Oruro.
So, in Sucre, a fire was set near the building of regional election commission. In Oruro, there is a confrontation between police and citizens. In Potosi, election commission officials were forced to suspend the vote count because protesters prevented the delivery of ballots.
Earlier on Monday, Pagina Siete reported that police used tear gas against protesters gathered in La Paz in front of the presidential election counting building.
The protests in Bolivia exaggerated and turned into violent riots in many regions when it became known about the victory of Morales. At least one regional branch of the Electoral Court was set on fire by opposition protesters. A video of a burning building in Potosi, mountains of glowing ballots in Tarija and bonfires in front of the electoral commission in Cochabamba spread on social networks and local media.